Liebling
by autumnrose2010
Summary: Crosses over with 'Summer Of My German Soldier'. Aslan tells Anton he has to go back because Patty still needs him.
1. Patty's Accident

He was in a tunnel, racing toward a bright light, but he felt no fear, only the most incredible peace he'd ever known. The light grew larger and larger until at last it surrounded him, and he was standing on solid ground again. For as far out as he could see in all directions was the verdant grass of what he soon realized was an enormous field, stretching into infinity in all directions.

He began to walk, drawn toward a distant figure which, as he approached it, turned out to be a large male lion with a beautiful mane and the deepest eyes he'd ever seen.

He'd barely had time to take all this in when, to his astonishment, the lion spoke.

"Fredrick Anton Reiker." _Is that who I am? I can't remember..._

"You must return," the lion continued, his voice rich and solemn. "It is not your time."

"But I want to stay!" Anton felt tears wet upon his cheeks. "This is the most beautiful place I've ever seen!"

"There is one on earth who still needs you. Come."

Anton's feet had a mind of their own as they followed the lion, who turned onto a path that led toward what appeared to be a movie theater. The interior was dark, but the screen on one wall was huge, and the characters were as large as life.

The first person Anton saw was a slender, dark-haired young girl inside a courtroom, being questioned by several menacing men in uniform. The scene pierced Anton's heart, for he recognized the girl. Her name was Patty Bergen, and she'd fed and sheltered him while he was on the run from the POW camp.

"It's all because of me, isn't it?" he asked the lion.

"No," the lion replied. "It's because of her. She has an unselfish, giving nature, and it's for that she faces these consequences."

"But there has to be some way to help her!"

"The only person who can help her is you," the lion replied. "You taught her to value herself, and because of that, you and she share an unbreakable bond. That is why you must go back."

"But what can I do?" asked Anton. "How can I help her?"

"In time you will see," the lion replied. He began to fade away, becoming more and more transparent, until at last he was gone, and Anton found himself lying in bed in a hospital room attended to by two nurses, one of whom jumped as if she'd just seen a ghost.

"He's alive!" she told the other nurse.

"That's not possible." The other nurse didn't even look up from the chart she was reading. "No pulse, flat EKG, fixed and dilated pupils. I was just about to fetch the doctor to sign the death certificate."

"Look!" The nurse who'd spoken previously shook her arm, which made her look up. "His eyes are open!"

The nurse holding the chart swooned and dropped it.

 **Eight Years Later**

"Ready to go?" a smiling Lucy Pevensie asked her flat mate, Patty Bergen. Patty, on full scholarship to a university in London, had been flat mates, and good friends, with Lucy for awhile now.

"You bet!" Patty grinned. Since coming to London, she'd found life busier but much more pleasant than life back in her hometown. The relief of being away from her domineering, abusive father and cold mother was more than she could express. She missed Ruth, Freddy, and Sharon, but kept in touch with them by mail.

Now she jumped up from the bed, quickly ate breakfast, and dressed. It was Saturday, and the girls were going horseback riding in the country.

They were both in high spirits as they arrived at the meadow and chose their horses. Patty climbed onto the back of her horse and moved out into the open field, and soon she was flying along with the sun shining on her face and the wind blowing in her hair.

 _Nothing like this back home,_ she told herself, remembering the dull stillness and monotony of the little Southern town where she'd grown up.

She'd been riding for perhaps twenty minutes when the horse's front foot went into a hole in the ground and Patty went flying over its head, landing hard in the grass a few feet away. Lucy was there within seconds, dismounting from her own horse.

"Are you all right?" she asked her friend.

Patty's face was a mask of pain. "I don't think so. My arm hurts really bad, and I can't move it."

 _How I wish I had my healing cordial with me!_ Lucy thought.

"We must get you to hospital right away!" she told Patty.

In the emergency room, Patty explained to the receptionist what had happened and was taken back to X-ray, then told to wait in the lobby.

"Dr. Reiker will be with you shortly," the smiling nurse told her.

"What is it?" Lucy asked when she saw the expression on Patty's face.

"I know someone named Reiker, once," Patty replied.

Patty drew a sharp intake of breath when the physician appeared. _No. It couldn't be. He died a long time ago._ At least, that's what they'd told her.

He looked much the same as before, except that he wore his hair in a different style now, and there were tiny wrinkles at the corners of his eyes that hadn't been there before. When he spoke, his voice was soft with wonder.

"P.B.?"


	2. No Idea

"Anton?" All she could do was gape at him. "They told me you died."

 _I did, but I came back,_ is what he wanted to say, but couldn't. "Proves you can't believe everything you hear," is what he said instead. "Now, let's have a look at that arm of yours."

"It really hurts."

"What did you do to it?" asked Anton.

"Lucy and I were riding horses, and I fell off," Patty told him.

"First I need to take an X-ray," said Anton. "Come with me."

He led her into another room, which contained a large machine. He told her to sit beside it and hold her arm perfectly still. Then he left, and a few minutes later, another young man entered the room and went to the machine. It made some whirring noises, and then the young man left. A few minutes later, Anton returned with a film, which he placed into a slot on the wall. Then he called Patty over.

"Do you see this?" he asked, pointing to an image on the film. Patty nodded.

"This is your radius," he told her. "As you can see, there is a fraction line here. In other words, you have a broken arm."

"Oh, no!"

"It's a clean break, a simple fracture," Anton reassured her. "There's no reason it shouldn't heal completely in six weeks at the most. The bad news is, you'll have to wear a cast to hold the bone in place so it will heal properly."

"But I'm in school!" said Patty.

"There's no reason you can't continue your education, with minor adjustments," Anton replied as he began to prepare the plaster of Paris. First he put a soft cloth over Patty's arm, and then he began to wrap the strips around it.

"What are you taking at uni?" he asked as he worked.

"Journalism," she told him. "Lucy's going into nursing, so we don't have very many classes together anymore, like we did for the first couple of years."

"Who's Lucy?"

"My flat mate and best friend," Patty replied. "But how did you end up in London, Anton? I can still call you that, can't I?"

"It's _Dr._ Anton to you now." He chuckled. "Just kidding. I've been here about six months, taking care of my grandmother. She had a stroke. She's originally from Manchester, but she moved to London several years ago to get away from the colder winters and the air pollution from the factories." He paused, looked into her eyes, and smiled. "My turn now, P.B. How did _you_ end up in London?"

"I won a tuition-free scholarship," Patty told him. "It pays for my tuition, books, dorm, meals, and even gives me a little spending money."

"I always knew you'd succeed at whatever you set out to do," said Anton. "I'm proud of you, you know."

"Thanks," said Patty, feeling a little shy.

By now the cast was dry.

"Make an appointment with my secretary to come back in six weeks, and I'll remove the cast." Anton patted Patty's shoulder. "Although I'm sorry about your arm, it really was good to see you again, P.B. I can't tell you how many times I've thought about you, wondering how you were." The vision the lion had shown him in that faraway land returned to him with startling clarity.

"I've thought about you a lot, too." She knew if she tried to say anything more, she'd burst into uncontrollable sobs, so she just turned and left.

"You sure were back there a long time." Lucy glanced at the cast on her arm. "So it's broken, then?"

Patty nodded. "I have to go back in six weeks to have the cast off."

She was silent the rest of the way back to the dorm.

"Out with it, Patty," said Lucy as soon as they were inside their room. "I can see from the look in your eyes you've something important on your mind."

"That doctor," said Patty. "I know him!"

"You do?"

Patty told her the whole story, how she'd hidden Anton from the authorities, how he'd tried to escape but been shot, how they'd told her of his death and then taken her into custody. It was the first time she'd ever told the story; it had always been much too painful to talk about. Yet Lucy was her best friend, and at last she felt it was safe to talk about it.

At the same time, she wondered how her revelation would affect their friendship. Would Lucy think less of her for it?

When she finished speaking, Lucy was silent for a moment as Patty gazed at her in fear. At last she spoke.

"I'm not the one to judge whether what you did was right or wrong," she said. "It's for One higher than me to make that decision, but I know you well enough to know you did what you did out of compassion rather than the desire to betray your country, and I know He'll take that into account."

"You're talking about God," said Patty. Lucy nodded. "You've always seemed so close to Him. but to me, He's always seemed so far away."

"He loves you, Patty," Lucy replied. "He loves all His children."

* * *

For the rest of the day, Anton couldn't get the encounter out of his mind. He knew he'd been sent back for a reason, and that it had something to do with Patty, but as much as he'd thought about it over the years, the answer still eluded him. He'd longed to talk with her again but feared trying to get in touch would only make things worse for her. He couldn't forget the rage he'd seen in her father's eyes, the fear he'd seen in hers, the overwhelming urge to protect her, even at the risk of his own safety. He'd seen from her expression that she'd felt the same way about him.

Yet he hadn't been able to stay and protect her. Due to circumstances beyond the control of them both, he'd had to leave her, vulnerable and powerless.

He'd had no idea he'd meet up again with her in the country of his mother's birth.


	3. Meeting Maud

The six weeks passed quickly. With minor adjustments, Patty was able to live a normal life and keep up with her studies, and before she knew it, it was time to return to the office of Dr. Anton F. Reiker.

She'd been counting down the days until she could see him again, and now that the time was finally here, the minutes seemed to pass very slowly. While waiting to be called back, she relived the scene where she'd said goodbye to him in the shed. They'd both been much younger, and very frightened. How had he changed as he'd matured over the years? Did he still think of her as his _liebling?_

"Patty Bergen?" The receptionist's voice pulled her out of her reverie. "The doctor will see you now."

The nurse led her to a waiting room, where she sat shivering until she saw the door swing open, and a young man with brown hair and a goatee entered.

"Hello," he said. "I'm Jack, the physician's assistant. I'm here to remove your cast. It won't hurt a bit."

The saw he held looked scary to Patty but, true to his word, there was no pain, only a slight tingling sensation when it touched her flesh.

"Dr. Reiker will be in to see you shortly," he told her before he left.

Less than five minutes later, the door opened once again, this time to admit Anton.

"Well, hello there, Miss P.B.," he greeted her. "How's your arm?"

"I can't move it at all," she complained. "It hurts every time I try."

"That's because the muscles became stiff after being held in place for so long," he told her. "As you resume normal use of your arm, the stiffness will disappear, and since you're young, that will be very soon."

He took another x-ray and then announced that the arm had completely healed.

"I guess that means I won't see you anymore," she said with downcast eyes.

"Why, it doesn't mean that at all!" He gave her a friendly smile. "In fact, if you don't already have plans, my grandmother and I would love to have you over for dinner Friday evening. Bring your flat mate - what was her name?"

"Lucy Pevensie."

"Bring her along as well. I'd love to meet her. Any friend of yours is a friend of mine, too."

Patty was ecstatic as she returned home. She couldn't wait to see Anton again, and to meet his grandmother.

* * *

"What do you suppose she's like?" Lucy asked as she and Patty waited to be admitted to the Bennington home.

"If she's anything at all like Anton, she has to be a wonderful person," Patty replied.

The door opened.

"Come on in," Anton greeted them. "Hello, P.B. You must be Lucy. Nice to meet you. I'm Anton Reiker."

"Hello." Lucy gave a polite smile as she shook his hand.

Anton stepped aside so they could enter. The living room walls were covered with white wallpaper that had pale blue flowers. Against one wall was a navy blue sofa, and at each end of it were large navy blue chairs. In one chair sat an elderly lady in a dark green dress with little yellow flowers. She had short white hair and wore glasses. She looked up at her visitors and gave them a warm smile.

"These are the two young women I told you about, Nana," Anton said to her. "Patty Bergen and Lucy Pevensie. This is my grandmother, Maud Bennington."

"It's lovely to meet you, Mrs. Bennington," said Lucy.

"For me as well," added Patty.

"Please call me Maud," she told them. "Have a seat." She nodded toward the sofa. "How is your arm, Patty?"

"It's fine now," Patty told her. "Your grandson's a really good doctor."

"So he is," Maud agreed. She smiled at Anton, and he smiled back and took her hand. "He gave up a promising career to come look after a lonely old lady. He has a heart of gold, and he told me such amazing things about you, Patty. He said you took him in and gave him shelter when he was lost and afraid, at great risk to yourself."

"I could tell he was a good, kind person, and I wanted to help him," Patty replied. She thought of the dark day they'd told her Anton had died and showed her the shirt with the blood stains and felt her eyes moisten.

"Tell me, P.B. How bad were things for you after I left? I've worried about that ever since it happened," said Anton.

"They were pretty bad." Patty's voice was soft. "I was in reform school for awhile. Even after the war ended, people never treated me quite the same." _Especially my parents,_ she wanted to add. "I was so glad when I got the chance to come to London, to start over fresh in a new country. What happened to you? After the hospital, I mean."

"I was returned to the prison camp, and after the war ended, I went back to Germany and finished medical school. I worked for a hospital in Gottingen for a couple of years and was thinking about starting my own practice when I received word that my grandmother had had a stroke."

A young woman appeared in the doorway. "Dinner's ready."


	4. Narnia

Several minutes later, the group was seated around a large table which held steaming platters and bowls - salad, pie and mash, rolls. Patty had grown accustomed to English food and found it quite tasty.

"Will you please say grace, Anton?" Maud asked her grandson.

"Of course I will, Nana," Anton replied. "Dear Lord, we thank you for this food, and for your many other blessings. _Komm, Herr Jesu, sei unser Gast und segne, was Du uns bescheret hast._ Amen."

"Thank you," said Maud.

Anton smiled. "It was my pleasure."

"He reminds me so much of his father," said Maud. "My Rebecca was just eighteen when Erickson Reiker was a guest speaker at her school. It was love at first sight for those two. Even though she was so young, she knew it was the real thing. Her father and I tried to discourage it, but there was no use. She followed him to Germany and never looked back."

"Why did you try to discourage it?" Lucy wanted to know.

"Why, because she was so young, and Erickson was so much older, and German - the Great War had just ended, you see."

"That's what World War I used to be called," said Patty.

"Right."

"Many people were very bitter about the Treaty of Versailles," Anton put in. "My father only wanted peace, even if it meant the reparations had to be paid. His opinion was not a popular one."

"If all Germans had thought as your father did, there may not have even been another war," said Maud. "Lucy, why don't you tell us about your family?"

"I'm the youngest," said Lucy. "I have two older brothers, Peter and Edmund, and an older sister, Susan. We grew up in London, and when the evacuations started, we went to stay in the country with a nice old man named Professor Kirke." She glanced around the table, wondering how much of her story she should share. "We had many wonderful adventures there," she added at last.

"And how are your brothers and sisters now?" asked Maud.

"They're fine," Lucy replied. "Peter works for a bank, Edmund's almost finished with university, and Susan works as a fashion designer." She felt a stab of pain in her heart as she thought of her sister, and how she longed for Susan's return to the fold.

Anton saw the look in her eyes and wondered what was upsetting her. He suspected it must have something to do with one or more of her siblings but didn't want to pry.

For the rest of the meal, Maud regaled the group with stories of her life in Manchester.

"Sometimes on Saturdays, we'd take a ride to Liverpool to watch the ships come in," she said. "In those days, there were huge passenger ships with lots of people, and we'd stand on the dock and watch the little white birds swoop down. Rebecca used to throw bits of food to them. We took the ferry across the Mersey a few times. It was all so very lovely. Have either of you girls ever been to Liverpool?"

Lucy and Patty shook their heads.

"You should go sometime. It's an experience you'd never forget."

"I'm still fascinated by everything there is to see in London," said Patty. "It's so different from back home!"

"Tell me about your home," said Maud.

"It's a small town in Arkansas," said Patty. "My parents own a general store. I used to work there sometimes. It's really small, nothing like Harrods. It's just one floor with everything in the same room."

"That's nice," said Maud.

They finished dinner and, after assuring Maud and Anton they'd visit again soon, took the subway home.

"Are you unhappy about something?" Patty asked Lucy.

"It's my sister Susan," Lucy replied. "She's no longer a believer."

"In what?" Patty wanted to know.

Lucy paused for a moment. "If I told you something utterly fantastic, would you believe it?"

"I'd certainly try!" Patty replied.

"In Professor Kirke's house, there was a wardrobe full of coats," Lucy began. "It was made of special wood - wood from a tree that grew in the magical land of Narnia. When you entered the wardrobe, sometimes there was just a plain wooden back, but sometimes you'd come out on the other side in the land of Narnia!"

Patty frowned. "I've never heard of it."

"It's a wonderful place, full of creatures like fauns and talking animals," Lucy told her. "But the most amazing of all is Aslan. He's a lion, but no ordinary one - he's the wisest and kindest creature you could ever hope to meet!"

"Are you all right, Lucy?" asked Patty. "What you're saying sounds crazy!"

"I know, but it's true!" Lucy's voice was raised, and several passengers turned to look at her.

"All right," said Patty. "If you say so, then it is. So what you're telling me is that you and your brothers and sister went to Narnia and met Aslan, but Susan doesn't believe it really happened anymore?"

Lucy shook her head. "She says it was all just a game, but it wasn't! It really happened!"

"I'm sorry," said Patty. She couldn't think of anything else to say.


	5. Holiday Season

Holiday season approached, and Christmas decorations began to appear all over London. For the first time since her arrival in England, Patty felt homesick.

"Aren't you excited about Christmas?" Lucy asked her as she sat the small Christmas tree she'd purchased at the chemist on the corner table in the living room.

"No," said Patty. "It isn't _my_ holiday." She remembered Hanukkahs past - her mother saying the blessings and lighting the candles on the menorah, she and Sharon playing with dreidels and eating gelt. It was one of the few times of the year when her family came together as one. Even her father was halfway nice to her - part of the time, anyway.

"Oh, that's right," said Lucy. "I forgot. But don't you have _something_ in the winter?"

"Hanukkah," Patty told her.

"I've never heard of that. Is it like Christmas?"

"Not really. There aren't any trees or manger scenes. Instead there's a menorah, and dreidels, and you eat potato pancakes - _latkes -_ with sour cream and applesauce."

"Oh. I don't know whether you can get that sort of thing here. Do you not want a Christmas present from me, then?"

Patty shrugged. "Do whatever you want." She knew Lucy would never understand how she felt - and why should she? It wasn't _her_ problem.

She thought of someone who would at least sympathize with her - someone she could talk to who would care. He'd given her his home telephone number and told her not to hesitate to call him if she needed him. He's so busy, though, she told herself. I shouldn't bother him with my own petty concerns.

Yet, hadn't he always listened with a sympathetic ear before? Hadn't he always offered, if not a solution to her problem, a listening ear, at least?

She picked up the receiver and began to dial his number. The telephone rang several times and was finally answered by the maid, Jemima.

"This is Patty Bergen," Patty told her. "May I please speak to Dr. Reiker?"

"Certainly." A few seconds later, Patty heard Anton's voice, asking how she was.

"I'm feeling really lonely right now," she said.

"Any special reason?"

Patty sighed. "It's almost Hanukkah, and I don't have anybody to share it with. Back home, Mama would light the candles on the menorah and say the blessings for each night. Then we'd eat a special meal and play with dreidels. I really miss all that."

Anton was quiet for a long time.

"Anton?" Patty finally asked.

"I think I can help you," he said. "I can't make any promises, but I'll see what I can do."

* * *

"Susan! I'm so glad you could make it!" said Joan.

"Of course! I wouldn't miss a party like this!" As she spoke, Susan felt a twinge of guilt. Her parents had invited her to come with them to a candle lighting ceremony at church.

"Maybe I'll go," she'd mumbled, knowing all along she was planning to go to Joan and Helen's party instead.

"Come see this new lipstick I just found at the chemist," Helen called from another room. Susan went to join her and saw the lipstick was a bright reddish orange color called 'Poppy.'

"I like it!" said Susan.

"There's a nail polish to match." Helen showed her.

"Smashing!"

The young women spent several hours trying on make-up, gossiping, and giggling. Susan forgot all about the candle light service she was missing.

* * *

On the first night of Hanukkah, Patty was moping around at home when she heard the doorbell ring. She opened the door to see a young woman with long brown hair and brown eyes wearing a dark blue coat, but what really caught her attention was that the young woman was holding a menorah!

"Come on in," said Patty.

"Thanks," the young woman replied. "Are you Patty Bergen?"

"I am." Patty wondered what on earth was going on.

The young woman smiled. "Nice to meet you. I'm Naomi Cohen. Dr. Reiker told me about you. He said you were lonely and needed someone to celebrate Hanukkah with. He told me how to get to your flat, and I said I'd come right over."

"Wow!" Patty was shocked, but thrilled. "How do you know Dr. Reiker?"

"He's been treating my asthma ever since my old doctor retired," Naomi told her. "My family goes to the synagogue a couple of blocks over. You're welcome to come with us any time you want."

"Thanks!" said Patty. "I've been past there lots of times, but I was scared of going in there by myself."

"Nothing to be scared of," said Naomi. "Everyone is very nice."

"I'd like that," said Patty. As Naomi set up the menorah and retrieved the candles from her coat pocket, a warm feeling of happiness and gratitude filled Patty.

I knew I could count on Anton, she told herself.


End file.
